Virginia Tech Shooting

[Arek the Absolute]

"Eventually everyone will forget to blame the one person who actually deserves it: the guy who decided to pick up the gun and kill 33 people."

Fox news is already doing that Darke.

[Maco70]

Imus is no less accountable for his rude, insulting, and racist remark because some other guy shot up 32 students. Are you an idiot?

I read this document once that stated there is a freedom of speech in the US.

I think people tend to forget what that means.

Any new developments on VT btw? I need to write a paper on the incident for a class ><;;

[Darklink42]

Here's a thought.

You have a camera. Some guy is going around shooting people - you don't know but you might be next. There isn't much you can do - or you are already hiding (you can tell from the video that the guy was hiding around a corner.) You might as well catch a few images of the assailant before he kills you or kills others.

hmm...I'd still be more inclined to not be standing there. From what I saw, it looked like he was just standing out in the open. Of course, all I saw was the stuff they showed on TV, so maybe I missed some vital stuff.

[CH]

I am really REALLY starting to hate fox.

[CE]

So two white, heavily armed kids only kill like 12 people and a Asian kid with a gun kills 32 and wounds more?

Hm.

I guess all that Zerg rushing and playing Gunz online really does improve your reflexes! Maybe he even used his mad DDR skills to dodge projectiles.

[DJ Tempora]

I know there are many more OCRers in the Virginia area than have posted in this thread. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of you as well as everyone else affected.

Keep your head up, VT. Keep your head up.

[Allegra]

This tragedy makes me wonder how the security authorities where I am would handle this, and I'm not sure if they would have reacted differently than VT:

- There was a school stabbing on my campus, that I never knew about until seeing the news. No warnings, no blockades, nothing.

- At work, we are instructed not to make a fuss if there is something suspicious going on, just alert your manager. We had an intruder scare that turned out to be false, but I had no idea what *could have been* happening at the time, and I was just a few cubicles away!

Generally, security guidelines are not designed with mass shooters in mind, and I can't really blame VT for thier decisions, as much as it would make me feel better about this tragedy.

[DarkeSword]

"Eventually everyone will forget to blame the one person who actually deserves it: the guy who decided to pick up the gun and kill 33 people."

Fox news is already doing that Darke.

So it begins.

[DJ Tempora]

Oh, also, major props to Viginia's governor for the following, via CNN.com:

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine said he wasn't interested in arguments about gun control.

"People who want to take this within 24 hours of the event and make it their political hobby horse to ride, I've got nothing but loathing for them," Kaine said at a Tuesday evening news conference.

"To those who want to try to make this into some little crusade, I say: Take that elsewhere. Let this community deal with grieving individuals and be sensitive to those needs."

That goes for any and all other politicizations (Yeah, I'm looking at you, JT) as well. This is a time for everyone to support Virginia Tech, nothing more.

[Kitsuta]

Oh, also, major props to Viginia's governor for the following, via CNN.com:

Them's fightin' words!

Seriously though... yes, major props to the Virginia governor. It's not often that you hear politicians speaking out against that kind of thing.

[BlueMage]

So two white, heavily armed kids only kill like 12 people and a Asian kid with a gun kills 32 and wounds more?

Hm.

I guess all that Zerg rushing and playing Gunz online really does improve your reflexes! Maybe he even used his mad DDR skills to dodge projectiles.

Those boys trained on the even-then-outdated DOOM murder simulator, so it's natural that their affinity wasn't as high as this guy, who no doubt had access to the latest murder simulators, like Gears of War, GTA3 and Viva Pinata.

[The Author]

Those boys trained on the even-then-outdated DOOM murder simulator, so it's natural that their affinity wasn't as high as this guy, who no doubt had access to the latest murder simulators, like Gears of War, GTA3 and Viva Pinata.

He was apparently an avid user of the killmulator known as Microsoft's Counterstrike...

[Oddllama]

Growing up in Palestine has nothing to do with doing something stupid. I know plenty of Americans who'd do something that stupid too.

I think you missed my half-serious point.

That, in growing up in Palestine, he would be used to gunshots and a police force that doesn't really care about your particular ethnicity.

[I-n-j-i-n]

Imus is no less accountable for his rude, insulting, and racist remark because some other guy shot up 32 students. Are you an idiot?

You are missing my point. Imus has been at that game for YEARS and now they raise a huge ruckus just because he stupidly called upon the girls' basketball team and somehow that got the attention and the media jumped on it like a bunch of piranhas. Not to mention all the hypocritical friends of Imus, mostly politicians and newsmen, who basically turned their back on Imus even after supporting his program for nigh decades. Let's not forget that the black 'civil rights' groups raised a huge stink about something Imus basically did on a daily basis, which is just as relevant as South Park making the N-word jokes and homophobic jokes. (if you can't detect the sarcasm in the last sentence... what can I say? Really.)

And of course, now that they were going nuts about Imus, now they are focusing their attention on anything else that is deemed to be 'offensive' and is going after that. It's a pussification of America. That is all there is to it. If people who own Imus's shows such as the CBS/NBC decide to cancel his show on their own premise of exercising their own interpretations of free speech, so be it. But what stunk up the whole issue was the hypocrites, namely the black civil rights movement, especially the race baiting and downright offensive Al Sharpton leading the way.

In the grand scheme of things, the Imus issue is a non-issue that was blown up by attention whores.

You say this is about accountability? Don't make me laugh. That's so ironic, I don't need to get into why that's so.

As for this issue and the possible prevention measures, the school authorities apparently got a lot of indications that the gunman was disturbed while in school life. I guess now they should be waking up to the psychological problems collegians can have on top of the high school drama and psychological traumas that created Columbine.

Nope. Media will blame games, TV, and music. The internet will retaliate and blame parents for not doing a good job. The blame game will be played for weeks, months, maybe even years.

Eventually everyone will forget to blame the one person who actually deserves it: the guy who decided to pick up the gun and kill 33 people.

I find it hilarious that literature is always ignored. Especially considering the guy was an English major. And hey, because all literature are harmless, just like those angry essays he wrote. Completely harmless bomb threats.

[Flare4War]

Well you see... It has to be video games that caused this; because, people were never acting out violently before Mario and Luigi came along. Then Crash Bandicoot just escalated the situation. By the time Wolfenstein 3D came along the average American bedroom was a Hitler training camp.. Before all this there was piece and harmony in the world. Murder was rarely spoken of and rape completely unheard of. Along came these damn video games and utterly destroyed piece on earth and good will towards men.

I agree with Injin. It's interesting and shocking that literature bares no responsibility for violence outbreaks....ever, but media (especially the video game industry) is constantly blamed.

Not to be un-sympathetic. What happened is awful. They should do everything they can to determine the cause. Study it. Investigate it. At last, if they can, understand it.

[Triad Orion]

I think you missed my half-serious point.

That, in growing up in Palestine, he would be used to gunshots and a police force that doesn't really care about your particular ethnicity.

My apologies. I made an error in judgment when I said what I did. I've just run into far too many people who are quick to blanket Palestinians as stupid or bad, and it drives me quite insane. I'm going to say no more on the issue than that considering the sensitivity of the subject matter, and that it's irrelevant to the thread.

Anyway, getting to the topic at hand, I think I-n-j-i-n does bring up an interesting point about literature never being blamed. It's just not as fashionable to burn books anymore as it used to be. Really, news doesn't get sold when they say "years of various classical literature made him do it" when it's easier to blame a "big" issue like video games. It just doesn't sell, and that's why it's usually not considered an issue. It only becomes one when the media thinks society would get a kick out of it. For example:

What if this guy was a Marxist and read the Communist Manifesto sometime? They'd jump at the chance to point out that he's a crazed socialist (never mind that communism and socialism are two different beasts entirely) and would blame that as part of the problem and use it to attack far-left political ideology. That stuff would sell, and bonus, it revives a hot-button issue from the Cold War era for politicians to press.

Stupidly far-fetched example aside, literature gets ignored in American ideology because many people just don't think it's important. So it's easier to blame things that are actually viewed as relevant...

Of course, the truth isn't something that always sells. A shame, really.

[Flare4War]

Of course, the truth isn't something that always sells. A shame, really.

The only way that could be more true is if you took out the word

'always'.

[Ninja-san]

You really cant assume what was the cause in these cases and I dont think now is the time to start throwing the blame around. At least the school tried helping Cho out at some point but you cant change someone unless they want the change. And the same goes for those fighting about video games or so forth. Both sides have thier view's and most likely arent gonna change them.

But again now isnt the time for the blaming.

[Flare4War]

You really cant assume what was the cause in these cases and I dont think now is the time to start throwing the blame around. At least the school tried helping Cho out at some point but you cant change someone unless they want the change. And the same goes for those fighting about video games or so forth. Both sides have thier view's and most likely arent gonna change them.

But again now isnt the time for the blaming.

If now isn't the time for blaming... I'll ask. When is the time?

[Bigfoot]

I'm listening to the Jack Thompson segment now.

I still don't get how someone can "train" on a game such as Doom. I must have missed it where police found a double barrel shotgun or a plasma rifle.

[Xelebes]

If now isn't the time for blaming... I'll ask. When is the time?

Once we're done our tea, of course.

[Triad Orion]

I'm listening to the Jack Thompson segment now.

I still don't get how someone can "train" on a game such as Doom. I must have missed it where police found a double barrel shotgun or a plasma rifle.

It's obvious. They didn't find the blue key to open the door where the plasma rifle is hidden.

[HalcyonSpirit]

If I may, I just want to bring a bit of a personal update while I have a few minutes free, since I have forgotten to do so for the whole day today:

All the people I was still trying to get in contact with the last time I checked in here have been accounted for. They're alright.

Now, I sleep. You may resume your discussions.

[I-n-j-i-n]

Did anyone pick up on the sly racism with Jack Thompson here? So KOREA=GAMEZ now? It's silly to imply that all shooters fit the same profile as well.

And didn't they say that the shooter basically sat around doing nothing and listening to the same music over and over again?

Also in the warrant papers for the shooter's dorm room, there was absolutely NO video game in sight. Just the most mundane things you could expect in a dorm room.

Not that I'd expect Thompson to base things off reality and fact. That'd be thinking too highly of him.

[DragonFireKai]

I'm glad you got a hold of everyone.